Kind of late for this, but I finally got around to playing this. Wonderful game. I decided to finally play my way through the first one. It was a decent game, but there really wasn't much to the combat. The story was fairly interesting, but the graphics are dated. It kind of felt like a mixture between Dragon Age and Sacred.

The second one is better in every regard, but I think it is worth playing through the first to really appreciate the story/lore (plus you can get it for around $5). The game, at least the start, is hard as hell though. I've died more in this than I ever did in Dark Souls, but you can F5 to your heart's content, so it doesn't feel quite as bad.

Loved the first one more than any other game since the Baldur's Gate series, at least in terms of story and lack of high fantasy hokeyness in favor of very adult themes. I have been itching to play the second, got the collector's edition. Eventually I hope to build a rig worthy of it._________________"The cheese stands alone." - Madhatte

I think it is safe to assume you will like the second one as well. The gameplay is now more of an action RPG game, but the story and acting is better than the original and more mature. The sex scenes are very, um, "detailed" as well...

I absolutely hated the first one's game play. I never got through the first part. The game was a terrible investment to me. That being said, the second one is one of my best investments last year. Playing it on the hardest difficulty was definitely a challenge at first. I thought I'd never beat the chapter 1 boss but it did get a bit easier after you get deeper into whatever tree you choose to follow.

Once I got the hang of the first one, I found the gameplay to be somewhat enjoyable, if aggravating and unintuitive. The story and writing made the experience worth the effort._________________"The cheese stands alone." - Madhatte

Yeah the only real difficulty to the combat in the first one was deciding what potions to use before fights. Then it was just click, click, click. Still, I ended up enjoying the game overall, but more for the story and quests than the combat.

The second one really is a completely different game in that regard. I found it hard as hell at first, but I think was either because I am less comfortable with mouse+kb or the game just isn't as well suited for it. As soon as I switched to controller, I found the game a ton easier (it is still more challenging than 90% of the games released these days though).

I would put Witcher 2 ahead of DA:O, Mass Effect and Skyrim. If I had to describe in relation to other RPGs, I guess it would come closest to a combination of Dragon Age and Dark Souls. The combat isn't quite Souls-level, but it is a step up from say Dragon Age 2.

I finished the game so I figured I would post my final thoughts on the game. The game was great start to finish, but it felt like it was missing about 20-40% of the game. While the game took me about 50 hours to complete, it actually felt a lot shorter. There are only 3 chapters (plus a prolog and epilog). The pacing is kind of slow, but not as much as the first, which is why even with 50 hours of gameplay it still feels pretty short.

I take back the game being difficult. It is definitely one of those games that starts off hard and gets easier and easier. Which is okay with me, I actually kind of prefer that type of game then one that is a cake walk and keeps getting harder, despite my character getting stronger.

I stick by my statement of it being the best traditional RPG this gen (excluding the Souls games), but it really could have used another chapter or two's worth of content.

I like Demon and Dark Souls, I just can't strictly consider them traditional RPG's. They're more akin to Roguelikes, which in my view also aren't true RPG's strictly speaking. This is because while having all the mechanics of one, I don't feel I'm playing a role. The "character" is more just a group of stats. There are no real internal motivations for being in the game space, only external ones, so I don't feel I'm playing through a personal story, which is tantamount to playing myself. All well and good, I just feel these games aren't comparable in that particular sense._________________"The cheese stands alone." - Madhatte

I agree, which is why I say this is my favorite traditional RPG on this generation. I like the Souls games better, but they don't really compare to other RPGs (despite how many fights Skyrim and Dark Souls fans want to have about which is better).

The RPG genre is kind of hard to define. Back in the old days, you knew what to expect when you heard RPG, especially on consoles. Story-oritented, random battles, turned-based combat, gaining levels, etc. Now RPGs differ greatly and really aren't the same genre - Skyrim to Dragon Age to Dark Souls to Borderlands to Mass Effect to Tales of Graces.

despite how many fights Skyrim and Dark Souls fans want to have about which is better

How can someone even make this comparison with a straight face, they're two completely different games._________________"The problem with quotes on the Internet is the validity of them." -Abraham Lincoln

So I'm thinking about getting this game since it's on sale on Steam, is it really imperative that I play the first one through?_________________"The problem with quotes on the Internet is the validity of them." -Abraham Lincoln